


Her White Coat

by DC_bookfanatic



Category: Chicago Med
Genre: Fluff, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 17:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18319853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DC_bookfanatic/pseuds/DC_bookfanatic
Summary: Ava has a new white coat and Connor’s oblivious.





	Her White Coat

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!! Thank you so much for clicking on my story! I love Connor and Ava together and just Ava in general but since the writers aren’t being very kind to them at the moment, I’m writing cute, fluffy pieces to make up for it. Also, we need more Rhekker fanfics anyway. I posted my first Chicago Med story on Fanfiction.net if you want to check it out. It’s called Expect the Unexpected under the username bookfanatic320. I am hoping to publish that story on Archive soon. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story! Ava might be a little OOC because I wrote her a little more open with her feelings but at the point that I’m writing her, I feel like she would have had time to warm up to her colleagues and become close friends. Also, in my mind, her falling in love with Connor has helped her to become less guarded with her feelings.
> 
> Another thing, I have no medical knowledge other than the things I have looked up and learned over the years however that may not be true so please don’t hate me if I get things wrong. It sounded good so I went with it :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Chicagoverse. Nor do I own Chicago.

Ava strolled through the sliding glass doors of the ED, feeling slightly odd not being in her scrubs or carrying her backpack containing them. 

But what felt even odder and more surreal was that, although she had walked through those doors thousands of times before, this was the first time she did it as a married woman.

_A married woman_. She was married. She was married to Connor Rhodes, the love of her life.

She still couldn’t quite believe it, even after over a month of heavenly honeymoon bliss, reveling in the man that she had chosen to spend her life with. He’d taken her all over Europe then as a surprise, he took them to Bora Bora for the last two weeks of their vacation. 

Connor had told her that he’d considered taking her to Cape Town but decided against it because he hadn’t wanted her to be compelled to go to work being so close to Groote Schuur. He’d said that being that close to her old hospital might prompt her to show up and start ordering the CT staff around since she hadn’t been in Chicago for quite a while to do it there.

Of course, she refuted that fact (even though she was getting a little anxious to have a scalpel back in her hand) and told him that she would have done no such thing although she might have swung by to see a few old friends, _not_ begging for an OR and a patient!

Oh well, Bora Bora was just as fantastic if not more so. She loved the beach and the ocean and palm trees which the island provided in abundance so she couldn’t complain.

It was nice to spend time with Connor as her husband without the chaos of being both Trauma and Cardiothoracic surgeons, however antsy she might be to return back to work.

Besides, she knew Connor felt the same way by the way he’d been acting, especially when she caught him calling to ask Will to send him some heart echos a few nights before they left Bora Bora.

Their months of doing nothing but soaking in newlywed euphoria was coming to a close. They were back in town, had been for nearly a week and they were both slated to be back at work this coming Monday.

However, since it was only Friday, Ava wasn’t at the hospital to work. She was there to pick up her package. The one she ordered months ago, weeks before her wedding.

Connor had finally left their apartment to go to visit a friend of his and she didn’t hesitate to encourage him to go. They had precious time off, so she wanted him to go do something he wanted to do while he had the time. She could survive without him for a few hours. She had had him all to herself for over a month after all.

Besides, she had an ulterior motive to get him out of the house.

She didn’t want Connor to know about her errand to the hospital. The package she was picking up held a bit of a surprise for him and she hadn’t wanted to spoil it by trying to sneak out of the house with him still in it.

Ava suppressed a grin. _She_ couldn’t wait to inspect the contents of the package.

“Look who’s here! The bride herself,” Maggie greeted her enthusiastically as she walked into the ED from the waiting room.

Adjusting her purse, Ava smiled, happy to see her friend again, “Hey Mags! How have things at the hospital been? Anything interesting?”

Maggie shrugged, “Same old, same old. You and Connor haven’t been here to stir things up.”

Ava laughed as Natalie came walking up, rubbing in hand sanitizer, “Hey stranger. What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back till Monday.”

“I am,” Ava gave Natalie a hug, “But, Connor’s out of the house and I needed to pick up something without him.”

Natalie and Maggie shared a glance of peeked interest before the former gasped in excitement.

“Oh my gosh,” Natalie grabbed Ava’s arms, “Are you pregnant?”

“What? No!” The blonde exclaimed incredulously watching as the excited smiles on Maggie and Natalie’s faces diminished.

“I am not pregnant,” Ava added in huffed exasperation.

“Well, I was going to ask how the honeymoon went but, you’re pregnant?”

April’s surprised voice popped up from behind her. The nurse walked closer to join their conversation.

Ava shook her head firmly and rolled her eyes, “No! I am not pregnant. You guys can calm down.” 

“Then what do you need to pick up?” Maggie eyed her suspiciously.

Ava pursed her lips, “I’m not telling. You’re just going to have to wait and see if you notice it.”

Her friends shared a confused glance but none of them insisted on knowing what she meant by her cryptic response.

“Alright,” April mused lightly before giving a sly grin, “So, how was the honeymoon?”

Ava smirked, slightly blushing, “It was wonderful. Just me, Connor and the ocean. I’ll have to show you pictures.”

“You actually saw things outside your hotel room? I’m impressed!” Maggie exclaimed over-enthusiastically, her eyes innocently wide.

“Oh my God, Maggie! Really?” Ava slapped her on the shoulder as April and Natalie giggled.

“All right, if I’m going to be the brunt of your teasing, I’m going to go do what I came here to do! I’m sure you all have work to do,” Ava looked at them pointedly and checked her watch, “Besides, I must get a move on if I want to get home before my husband.”

The girls wriggled their eyebrows at her, still giggling as she walked away. It was a good thing she liked them, or they would be feeling the heat of one of her mood swings.

Ava walked into the elevator, pushing the button that would take her to the executive offices.

She shook her head in disbelief. Really? They thought she was pregnant? 

She wanted kids, just not this soon after she got married. She wanted to enjoy being newlyweds before jumping into parenthood.

Ava shook all thoughts of children out of her head and knocked on Ms. Goodwin’s open door. The Chief of Services, who sat at her desk, looked up and smiled when she saw the young surgeon.

She stood up and waved her in the office, “Come on in, Ava. How was your trip? You used to that new handsome husband of yours yet?” 

Ava laughed, entering the room, “The real test will come when we get back to work. I don’t imagine it to be too different than before the wedding because God knows we fought, in and out of the OR, like we were already married, but you never know. Maybe it will be different. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

Goodwin nodded knowingly, “Your fights are legendary around here, but you may find that marriage changes everything yet nothing at all. Things spice up. The fighting and the making up.”

Ava’s cheeks turned pink. Yes, she imagined the making up would be quite satisfactory. Ms. Goodwin was right, something about knowing you were married made everything more heated, more intimate.

The other woman grinned, bending down to pick up a brown package sitting by her desk, “Anyways, I’m guessing this is why you’re here on one of your last few days off work.”

Ava nodded eagerly, taking the box that was being handed to her, “Yes, it is. I wanted to get it before Monday. You haven’t said anything, have you?”

“Only to Dr. Charles but I assure you that his lips are sealed. Connor hasn’t heard anything. I could have had it shipped to your apartment though, so you didn’t have to worry about picking it up.”

The blonde shook her head, “I didn’t want to take any chances. I’m really curious to see his face when he notices.”

She looked at her employer in earnest, “Thank you for keeping it for me.”

“Anytime,” Goodwin walked with Ava to the door, “I’m glad you’re back. This hospital needs you two and not just because you are extremely skilled at what you do but you and Connor, you both have some of the fiercest hearts when it comes to caring for patients that I think I’ve ever seen. It’s what makes you two my best surgeons and I think we’re all ready for you to return to work.”

“Thank you, I’m ready to return to work. I’m starting to get a little scalpel-happy,” Ava smiled softly, touched at her bosses’ words.

“Well, enjoy the rest of your vacation. Goodness knows that working here is far from a walk in the park. You and Connor deserve rest.”

Ava bid her farewell and started down the hallway, her package in hand. She couldn’t wait to open it.

* * *

 

“Connor?” Ava opened the door to the apartment slowly, her keys dangling in the door handle.

Not hearing any movement inside, she pushed her way fully into the house, package under one arm and her purse swung on her other shoulder. She took her keys out of the lock and shut the door behind her.

“Connor? You home?” She deposited her purse and box on the kitchen counter, satisfied that her husband wasn’t at home.

She didn’t think he was because his Porsche wasn’t in his usual parking place, but she had wanted to make sure before bursting into the house. She knew if he saw her box, he would want to know what was in it.

Ava took her package giddily down the hallway and into her room, sitting it on the bed. Grabbing some scissors, she quickly opened the box, uncovering the tissue paper that was wrapped around the contents of the package.

The scrubs were folded to where the embroidered _Gaffney Chicago Medical Center_ was facing upwards and right underneath that, was her new name.

_Ava Rhodes, M. D._

Looking at her name was so surreal. And the fact that she was married hit her again. She didn’t know if she would ever really fully wrap her head around the fact that Connor was her _husband_. 

For so long, she never thought she would ever find someone that she would want to spend the rest of her life with or someone who she would love as much as she loved Connor, but she did, and it was the best feeling in the world.

She had ordered seven new embroidered tops with her new last name as well as a couple of sets of just plain scrubs.

And she had decided to get some more pants because one could never have too many scrubs. One thing she had learned since becoming a doctor was always order extras because scrubs got dirty fast. Besides, she practically lived in them, so it was nice to have fresh, brand new clothes even though they only came in like, three colors: Black, grey and blue. 

It was a good thing she liked those colors.

However, what she really wanted to see was the last item in the box which was wrapped separately in a clear bag.

Ava slowly reached into the box and drew out the bag reverently. She always got chills when receiving a new white coat. She’d received four in her career, this was her fifth.

Her very first one was her short white coat which was given to her during The White Coat Ceremony upon being admitted into medical school.

She would never forget that day as she stood with her future classmates, all preparing to undergo the strenuous journey of becoming a doctor and being given that powerful symbol of compassion and honor. She remembered holding such high respect for the students who had come before her and were now great doctors in prestigious hospitals. Watching in awe as they gave inspirational speeches, sending her on her way and wishing her good luck for the incredible and rewarding (super hard) experience that that next four years of her life would bring.

The second white coat she received was even more surreal.

Her first long coat. The one that indicated that she was a doctor. The one that had _M. D._ trailing behind her name.

It was a highly emotional day. She was still recovering from the stress of final exams yet overwhelmed and relieved that she was finally a full-fledged doctor.

She would always remember the feeling of when she graduated and was handed her first official white coat. The pride she felt when putting it on for the first time, knowing that all of her hard work, sweat and tears had finally paid off.

However, she soon realized that being in med school was a walk in the park compared to working in a hospital and being responsible for patient care. No longer was she diagnosing case files, she was actually treating real humans, not dummies.

But still, that white coat was worth it.

The third one she received was after she completed her Surgical Residency at Groote Schuur and became a Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow.

That was when the real fun began. No longer was she directly supervised. She could make the calls herself and fly solo on all of her surgeries.

Her fourth was given to her as soon as she arrived in Chicago on her first day at Med.

Ms. Goodwin and Dr. Latham had greeted her and presented her with new sets of scrubs and a white coat with Gaffney Chicago Medical Center embroidered with her name Ava Bekker, M. D. emblazoned underneath.

That was right before she met Connor, having no idea that he would be her future husband.

Which led her to now. Her fifth white coat.

This one felt different for some reason. It was a different kind of special.

Ava opened the bag and shook out the long coat, trying to get rid of some of the creases where it had been folded.

She slipped it on gingerly, flipping her hair out from under the collar and walked over to her full-length mirror.

Unexpected tears came to her eyes as she took in her new name. For some reason seeing Ava Rhodes, M. D. on her white coat made her emotional. Like all of her hard work over the years and the journey that brought her to Med which led her to Connor was all coming together, that her life was in the best place it had ever been.

She blinked quickly and turned to hide her scrubs somewhere until Monday morning when she would wear them to work.

Connor had no idea that she had officially changed her name over to Rhodes for work.

When he proposed to her, the thought of her last name changing hadn’t even crossed her mind. It wasn’t until Connor mentioned it that she even realized that that was an option. Of course, she knew that the wife typically took the last name of her husband but with everything going on, trying to plan a wedding and still working her day-to-day, high stress-level job, she hadn’t even thought about it.

Then Connor asked her about it and she kind of froze. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to take his name, but it felt so…permanent.

She had made a name for herself in the medical world, she had been published in multiple medical journals and the name Ava Bekker was stamped on many difficult surgical cases, so she didn’t know if she wanted to change her name, at least professionally.

Connor never mentioned it again and she knew that her reaction had made him shy away and avoid the subject altogether.

After that whole conversation she started to put a lot of thought into it and she decided that she was going to change her name and surprise Connor because she knew it meant more to him than he wanted to let on. And after thinking about it, she found that she wanted to be a Rhodes. She wanted to be Connor’s in every way possible.

Three weeks before she got married, she ordered her white coat and new scrubs. Then, about a week before she got married, she started collecting the paperwork to change her name legally. Her passport, driver’s license, medical record, everything.

How she kept it from Connor, she had no idea, but she did, and she wanted to surprise him in a fun way so she planned on wearing her new scrubs and her new white coat on Monday and wait and see when he would realize her name was changed.

Ava took off her coat and stashed it in the back of one of her drawers along with her scrubs. Connor would probably be home any time now, so she wanted her clothes to be sufficiently hidden.

She was ready to go back to work.

* * *

 

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

There was little movement in the darkened bedroom, the curtains keeping out any glimmer of light from the moon. It was so early; the sun wasn’t even up.

“Turn it off,” Ava complained groggily as the beeping got more intense.

Connor grunted before blindly swinging an arm in the direction of the alarm clock, hitting it a few times until he successfully turned the intrusive noise off.

They laid silently in the bed for a few moments before Connor let out a yawn, stretching, “Come on, Ava. We gotta get up.”

“No,” She moaned in protest, throwing a leg over Connor’s torso in an attempt to keep them in bed longer, “I just got used to sleeping in! I don’t wanna get up now.”

Connor grabbed ahold of her leg as he turned into her to give her a kiss, “I know, I’d much rather lay in bed all day with you, but we’ve got surgeries waiting for us. Come on, honey, you said yourself that you couldn’t wait to get back to work.”

Ava opened an eye to look at him, “Yeah, but not at 4:45 in the morning. The honeymoon has spoiled me.”

He laughed, giving her another quick kiss on the lips and rolled out of the bed, dressed only in boxers.

Ava turned over and stretched out languidly before throwing the covers back and sitting up. She heard the shower turn on and she rubbed her eyes tiredly while standing up, her bare legs cold in the morning air.

Glancing at the clock told her it was 4:55 and she’d better get a move on if she wanted a shower and breakfast before getting to work on time. She half-heartedly threw the covers back onto the bed, somewhat making it up and picked up the clothes that were scattered around the room.

She then padded her way into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee before making her way into the bathroom to join Connor in the shower.

* * *

 

Ava could hear Connor banging around in the kitchen, no doubt trying to find their tumblrs to put their coffee in. She quickly pulled on her scrub pants and threw on a long sleeve grey shirt, knowing that they needed to hurry, or they’d be late.

Both she and Connor had been a little slow getting ready this morning having to get back into the swing of things after their extended vacation.

“Avey!” Connor’s muffled voice floated in the closet.

Ava turned the lights off and shouldered both her and Connor’s bag before shoving her feet blindly into her tennis shoes on the way out of her bedroom.

“What time is it?” She asked, rounding the corner.

Connor glanced at her from where he stood pouring them both coffee into the now found travel mugs, “5:30. We gotta go.”

Ava swapped Connor’s bag for her coffee and grabbed a banana. She pulled her phone off its charger and swiped her keys from the counter, following Connor’s lead who was opening the door.

Connor grinned at her as she slid past him, “Are you ready for our first day working together as a married couple?”

She smirked, “Oh yeah. Should be fun.”

* * *

 

It was like a reunion.

As soon as they walked into the ED they were greeted with hugs and slaps on the back from their friends.

Connor was shaking Will and Ethan’s hands and doing that hug thing guys did while Ava gave out hugs to the friends she had made over the years. She had already asked Maggie, April and Natalie to keep their mouths shut about the fact that she payed a visit to the hospital Friday.

“You guys sick of each other yet?” Will asked jubilantly as he patted Connor on the back.

Connor rolled his eyes good-naturedly, “Very funny. We’re very happy, thank you very much.”

Ethan looked at the couple in mock suspicion, “You haven’t had _any_ fights?”

“Contrary to popular belief, we _can_ go a couple weeks without arguing,” Ava defended. 

A smile pulled at her lips as she conceded, “as long as we’re not at work to fight about the best way to treat a patient.”

“I’m glad you had a good time but I’m happy you’re back,” April smiled at the newlyweds.

“Me too. I’ve been down two of my best doctors,” Maggie huffed in exasperation, looking down at the device she held in her hand.

The charge nurse looked at the group of doctors and nurses that were gathered around her, “Speaking of, three ambos on their way. All trauma, car crash.”

“And it looks like a severe cardiac contusion. So, you’re up,” She finished reading, giving Ava a look.

Connor smiled grimly, opening the door to the doctor’s lounge so they could dump all their stuff, “It’s good to be back.”

Ava followed him, taking her coat off as she went, “No rest for the weary.”

They quickly stored their things and Ava pulled her scrub top over her long sleeve then grabbed her stethoscope before following Connor out of the room, the sirens wailing as the ambulances pulled up outside of the hospital.

What a way to start out the day.

* * *

 

After treating the car crash victims as well as a few less traumatic cases, the morning had slowed down marginally.

In the midst of the chaos, Connor hadn’t noticed the name on her scrubs, but Ava wasn’t surprised. They hadn’t even been working on the same person so it would have been highly unlikely for him to realize a detail that small. During situations like that, the only thing you focused on was your patient, but the day wasn’t over yet and he was bound to notice eventually.

Ava opened her locker and grabbed her white coat, ready to start making her rounds upstairs.

* * *

 

A few hours later and Connor still hadn’t noticed her name change. 

She was starting to get a little anxious. It wasn’t like he hadn’t had time to notice. They had done the ICU rounds together like they always did, and she thought that he would see it then but apparently not. 

She’d even made sure that her hair wasn’t covering up her name but nothing.

Maybe it was time for a change in tactics.

“You look deep in thought,” Maggie looked at her from across the counter that Ava was resting her elbows on, chin in her hands.

She sighed heavily, “Yeah.”

When she didn’t offer anything more, Maggie looked at her, perplexed, “So, I noticed you have new scrubs and a new white coat. Should I be calling you Dr. Rhodes now?”

Ava looked up at her with a look of unenthused disbelief, “Really? Of course, you would notice but not Connor.”

Maggie looked even more confused, “Connor doesn’t know? What?”

Ava sighed again and stood up, “He doesn’t know I changed my last name. A few months ago, he asked me about it, and it caught me off guard because I hadn’t thought about it and it kind of scared me because it seemed like such a permanent thing to do.”

She paused and looked at her friend who was patiently listening, “Anyways, I think my reaction caught him off guard because he hasn’t mentioned it since so, I decided that I’d change it without telling him. I wanted to surprise him by wearing my new scrubs, but he hasn’t noticed.”

Maggie laid a hand on her shoulder, “I’m sure he’ll spot it but maybe you should give him a little push.”

“You’re right,” Ava nodded, “Thanks.”

Maggie waved her hand, “Anytime! So, does that mean we get to call you Dr. Rhodes too?”

Ava chuckled, “Yes, it might get a little confusing but I’m sure we can figure it out. However, wait and let me tell Connor first, okay.”

“Of course. I’d love to see his face though if we all started addressing you with his last name before he knew,” Maggie smirked, her gaze drifting to something behind her, “Speak of the devil.”

Ava turned around to see Connor walking towards them.

“Hey you two! What are you talking about?” He grinned, leaning up against the counter next to Ava.

She shook her head, “Nothing. What have you been up to?”

He opened his mouth to respond when Maggie’s page beeped.

“Kid fell off a treehouse at school. Multiple broken ribs, unconscious,” She read off the screen before looking at the two doctors in front of her, “You two got it?”

Connor nodded as he and Ava pulled gloves from the box sitting on the counter, “Yep.”

Sylvie Brett greeted them at the ambulance bay, a gurney holding a banged up small child in tow.

Ava and Connor each took a side and moved quickly towards a trauma bay as they started to assess the damage.

“Talk to us, Sylvie,” Connor prompted, “Whatchya got?”

The paramedic sighed, swinging the bed into the room, “Fell out of a treehouse and hit his head. Roughly 7 feet. BPs 130 over 90. He’s been unconscious the whole time, possible skull fracture. Multiple broken ribs.”

They maneuvered the gurney alongside the bed, and everyone got a fist full of sheet before Connor took charge, “On my count. One. Two. Three.”

After they got the boy on the bed, the paramedics and nurses got out of the way so the doctors could work.

“What’s his name and where’s his parents?” Ava looked up at Sylvie from listening to the child’s heart.

“Jackson. The principal called his parents and they’re on their way.”

Maggie, who had been watching the whole procedure, was standing near Sylvie.

She laid a brief hand on the paramedic’s shoulder, “Thanks Sylvie. I’ve got it from here.”

Ava worked quickly alongside Connor, looking into Jackson’s eyes, feeling his pulse and ordering scans as they checked off all the boxes.

The two doctors barely noticed when a man and a woman came frantically rushing into the room only to be corralled by Maggie to give the surgeons room to work.

Connor turned to one of the nurses, “I want a full body MRI and CT.”

Ava carefully but efficiently slipped a tube down Jackson’s throat and moved aside to let a nurse bag him. She ran her hand down his small arm and joined Connor. They exchanged a look before walking over to talk to the distraught parents.

“This is Mr and Mrs. Donahue. Jackson’s parents,” Maggie told them softly before exiting the room.

Mrs. Donahue clutched a Kleenex tightly and looked at both Ava and Connor in desperation, “He’s going to be alright, isn’t he?”

Connor looked at the boy’s parents with solemn reassurance while Ava offered a soft smile, “Jackson’s stable and we’re going to run some tests to make sure we aren’t missing anything.”

He paused, giving them a small smile, “We’re doing everything we can to give Jackson the best of care.”

Mr. Donahue wrapped an arm around his wife who sniffed and dabbed her eyes with her tissue.

“I’m Dr. Connor Rhodes,” He gestured to himself before turning to introduce Ava.

And Ava realized this was it. This was her chance.

“And this is Dr. Ava B-” Connor started before she cut him off.

“Dr. Ava Rhodes,” She interrupted, sticking out a hand to shake Mr. Donahue’s.

Connor jerked his head forcefully to look at her and she was afraid he had given himself whiplash. However, his expression was priceless. A myriad of emotions flashed across his face, confusion and shock being the most prominent.

The Donahues looked between them, “Wait, so both of you are Dr. Rhodes?”

Ignoring Connor’s bewildered stare, Ava nodded, recognizing that he was clearly in no state to respond, “Yes, we are. We just got married.”

“Congratulations,” Mrs. Donahue offered feebly, still wiping her eyes.

Ava smiled graciously, “Thank you.”

If the Donahues found Connor’s reaction strange, they didn’t mention it, but Ava noticed that they snuck a couple of odd glances in his direction.

Seeing as how Connor was still staring at her, his mouth slightly open, Ava decided they had better leave, “The techs will be up here momentarily to take Jackson for his scans, and we will be back to check on you in a little while.”

She gave them one last smile before grabbing the edge of Connor’s shirt to drag him out of the room behind her. 

Well, it certainly looked like she had achieved her mission of surprising him.

She pulled him into the, thankfully empty, doctors lounge and turned to look at him, crossing her arms.

“What?” Connor blurted in a garbled voice.

Ava raised an eyebrow, “Well, I expected you to be shocked, but you look like you’re going to pass out.”

Okay, that might be a bit of an over exaggeration, but he did seem thoroughly dazed.

“You said ‘Ava Rhodes’ not ‘Ava Bekker’,” Connor said slowly, dumbfounded.

“Mmhmm,” She hummed in amusement.

If he was reacting this strongly just to her changing her last name, she briefly wondered what he would do when someday she would tell him she was pregnant.

If and when that day came, there needed to be a camera ready.

“But I thought you didn’t want to take my last name?” She picked up on the slight hurt in his voice and it made her want to cry.

Ava shook her head, “Of course I want to take your last name.”

“But when I asked you about it, you didn’t look too interested,” Connor accused in confusion.

Ava walked closer to him until she was standing right in front of him, “If you’ll let me finish, I can explain.”

He nodded and she gave him a soft smile, “When you asked me about it, I wasn’t prepared. I hadn’t even thought about changing my name, so it was a bit of a shock when you mentioned it. And it actually kind of frightened me.”

Connor furrowed his eyebrows. Ava put a hand on his chest and gave him a look to tell him to let her finish.

“I know it’s silly but it just seemed so real and permanent and it hit me that I was getting married and we would be together for the rest of our lives,” Ava looked into Connor’s ocean blue eyes, “It scared me because it hit me again that you were the one person that held my heart completely and you had the power to crush it if you wanted.”

“Oh Ava,” He pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead, “I thought we already had this conversation. I love you and I never want to hurt you. I thought getting married would have convinced you of that.”

She chuckled into his chest, “I know but you know how hard it is for me to let people in. I’ve always wanted to marry you, that was never the issue, it was just the thought of changing my last name gave me a bit of a start. I know it’s a little irrational.”

“But,” Ava pulled back to look at him, placing her hands on his chest, “After you freaked me out, I thought about it and I decided that I wanted to become a Rhodes. I wanted to be yours in every way possible, so I decided to surprise you because I know how much it means to you even if you tried to hide it.”

Connor swallowed hard, “It does mean a lot to me. I want the whole world to know that you’re my wife. I just love you so much…”

“And I love you,” Ava reached up to plant a kiss on his lips.

“Anyways, I’ve changed my last name, legally and professionally. I’m officially Ava Rhodes,” She grinned at him, “Surprise.”

“Wait, really,” He asked hopefully.

Ava laughed, “Yes. That was the whole point of me introducing myself as Dr. Ava Rhodes. I’ve sent in all the forms for my passport, drivers license, medical records, everything.”

The look on Connor’s face was one of complete surprise and joy.

“I was waiting for you to notice my scrubs, but I was getting a little impatient.”

“Your scrubs?” He raised an eyebrow.

She moved out of his arms, moving her hair and stethoscope so Connor could read the name that was embroidered onto her white coat.

“They’re brand new. I ordered them way before the wedding. Ms. Goodwin held onto them for me and I came by to get them Friday while you were gone. I’ve been wearing them all day.”

Connor shook his head, grinning, “You little sneak. I thought that coat seemed more white than usual. I just thought you got it dry cleaned or something.”

He winked at her, “Mrs. Dr. Connor Rhodes. I like the sound of that.”

Ava raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think that’s a real title.”

“The Drs. Rhodes, then. Or the other Dr. Rhodes, depending on who’s being addressed.”

Ava bit her lip, “It might get a little confusing, to have two Dr. Rhodes running around.”

“I’m sure we can manage,” Connor drew Ava in for another kiss.

She went into his embrace without protest, her head lolling to the side to allow Connor better access to her neck. Her gaze was drawn to the large window behind Connor and saw April watching them with a smirk. Her eyes widened as she realized that anybody and everybody could just walk by and see them making out.

Ava pulled back quickly, shooting a glare at April who was now laughing on the other side of the window, “Connor! Connor, people can see us! Stop that!”

Connor threw a lazy glance over his shoulder and shrugged, giving her a quick peck on the lips, “Let them stare. We’re newlyweds, this is expected.”

“Oh my God, Connor!” Ava rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, “We’ve got work to do. People to treat.”

He pouted playfully, “I guess if we have too.”

She pinned him with a look, adjusting her stethoscope around her neck, “Come on, Dr. Rhodes. Let’s go.”

Winking, Connor beamed cheekily, “After you, Dr. Rhodes.”

Ava laughed, her eyes sparkling and her hair glowing as she flounced out the door as Connor watched, soaking in her beautiful spirit.

She was magic. The kind of magic you married.

And he was so grateful he did.

**Author's Note:**

> The end!!! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it! I feel like it wasn’t my best work but I kept fixing it and I decided I just needed to post it! Please leave me a comment and tell me what you thought!
> 
> If you would like to see more from me, please let me know! I have a couple options of what I might post next:   
> 1.) A fic involving Connor, Ava and a baby 2.) A kind of narrative by Connor describing how tough Ava is or 3.) A fluff piece containing a pregnancy reveal
> 
> Please tell me what you think! Also, if you have any requests or ideas, please share them!
> 
> Love ya bunches!!!!!


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